Address Data Match String Fields

By default, the match configuration file (matchConfigFile.cfg) includes rows specifically for matching on the fields that are parsed from the street address fields, such as the street number, street direction, and so on. The file also defines several generic match types you can configure for address fields. You can use any of the existing rows for matching or you can add rows for the fields you want to match. If you specify an “Address” match type for any field in the Master Index Wizard, the default fields that store the parsed data are automatically added to the match string in mefa.xml. These fields include the house number, street direction, street type, and street name. You can remove any of these fields from the match string.

When matching on address fields, determine whether you want to use the original field values, the standardized field values, or the phonetic values. The match engine can handle any of these types of fields, but the best comparator for each type might be different. Also determine how much weight you want to give each field type and configure the match configuration file accordingly.